By Kambar (Kavichakravarthy Kamban)
Translated in English by P. R Ramachander
Kamba Ramayanam-Yudha Kandam 4 (Padalam 12)
12. Ani Vakuppu Padalam
Chapter on Formation of Army.
(This chapter describes how the army of monkeys besiege the city of Lanka on the four sides and also how Angadha was sent as an emissary to Ravana. Ravana tries to win Angadha to his side and later tries to kill him and he escapes. The monkey army fills up the moats surrounding the city by putting mountains in them and force the Rakshasa army top come out and fight with them. In Valmiki Ramayana Rama decides on the leaders of his army in different gates based on information supplied by Vibheeshana’s ministers.)
6946. Ravana who was hit by the spear called “respectability” with all his ten heads,Greatly faded and looking like a faded and spoiled lotus flower , with bent heads,Reached his palace which touches the sky .He did not partake any drinks ,Did not get joy by hearing songs about God , did not go to the dancing stage and hall,Did not talk with any body but lay down on a soft bed.
6947. That king of Rakshasas who was having sharp teeth and due to being depressed ,By loss of the matchless gems was similar to Adhi sesha who was breathing heavily .From several of his heads as he was having a broad head with several hoods,And due to his living separately from Lord Vishnu who exists as truth ,Who was the leader of all beings and who sleeps on the flower bed on ocean of milk.
6948. At that time Sardhula whose real state is not known to even people ,Who moved with him more closely than his mother and who is an expert in illusion,Came to the Palace of Ravana and the door keeper went and told Ravana ,Saluted him and told him that “The person whom you had asked to approachThe enemy and , enquire about their workings has come.”
6949. Ravana said, “Call him in” and Ravana looked at that very intelligent spy,Who saluted him and asked “please tell me without mistake all the spy news ,That you have gathered” he understanding from the face of Ravana,Who was a lion imprisoned in a cave and that he was greatly depressed,With a mind submissive to him started telling in proper order what he knew.
6950. ”Oh valorous one , Hanuman with seventeen Vellam army has besieged ,The west door of the fort surrounding the castle wall . Rama along ,With the son of Sun God with same seventeen Vellam army ,Has ordered Sugreeva to never go away from him.”
6951. ” Also Angadha the son of the king along with an army of seventeen Vellam,Has been appointed to fight all the war that is necessary on the southern gate ,With another seventeen Vellam army of monkeys as well as his friends ,He who is called as Neela is standing near the eastern gate .”
6952. ,He has chosen two Vellam army to search and bring consumable fruits and vegetables ,For supplying food to that army which would be fighting with anger, and he has,Instructed your brother to find out the situation in all the four gates,And inform frequently and he and his brother are standing on northern gate.This is the arrangements that have taken place in the army of enemy.”
6953. As soon a Sardhula finished saying this the Ravana with sparks of fire ,In his eyes , with biting his teeth “Tomorrow when our chariots would run over their bodies,And from the blood that would be flowing from them ,I would wipe away the dust that rises from the war,And you would see the destruction in the battle field,That would be comparable with the destruction,When the northern fire rises during final deluge.
6954. Like the light sun light rising on the the famous blue mountain,That Ravana whose pretty shoulders had the mark of blood and flesh stains,When due to the hitting of arrows of God of love , whose job was hitting with arrows ,His flower spread bed got very hot , reached another room decorated by gems.
6955. He then made ten crores of ghosts guard outside his home,Which was Looking like bare earth but had homes built by crystal ,And sent word to his ministers who were born in faultless clans ,For thinking and deciding about what needs to be done then.
6956. He looked at the crowd of ministers whose wisdom cannot be measured,And asked,” With proper look out we have found that all the entrances of our fort ,Are surrounded by the monkey army and so a huge war is going to happen,And war will not go away from us and I am worried ,What should we think now and what should we do now?”
6957. Nikumba said,” possibly you are thinking that the seventy Vellam Monkeys ,Have surrounded all our walls and worried as to what is to be done now. To destroy completely our enemies who wear the Uzhinjai flowers,Your city’s ocean like army is thousand vellam strong and wears the Nochi flowers.”
6958. ”When the Asuras start fighting with prime weapons like Iron rod, axe .Spear , sword , the long spear with leaf like end , the devas would drop their weapons ,Salute us and start running away , and how can the monkeys ,With bare hands fight with us and attain great victory.”
6959. NIkumba an asura of matchless valour told like this , after beating the earth ,And he fell like fire and laughed like thunder and further said ,“Our affairs have become like this now,” and then Mali who was maternal uncle ,Of Ravana said, “the disease of passion with very great sorrow ,Is uprooting us like this and making us fall “ and further said words of love.
6960. ”Does Hanuman who entered this city, set fire to it and made it in to dust,Have the divine wheel in his hand? Does Sugreeva who came here and took,Away the crown gems from your ten heads have Spear , trident or sword?”
6961. ”And so even before the arrows start from the string of Rama , let us give back,Sita who has a invisible waist and bosom which hurts her waist and we the Asuras,Who have several weapons should speedily surrender to the monkeys ,Who do not have any such weapons and there is no other way,For us not to be harmed as we do not not have any protection.”
6962. When Mali told like this Ravana stared at him with fire coming out of his eyes,And he who has bad name done due to acts done earlier “Possibly You only,Want to tell cruel words at me and as you do not have any love towards me,And are telling words which are not proper to our clan “ and hearing that Mali stopped talking.
6963. After that Ravana summoned his commander in chief and said to him,“Oh valorous one who holds very sharp weapons in your hand andWho used them on Kalakeya so that the fat and blood came out ,Oh Commander of my army , take under your control two hundred vellam,Of Rakshasa army , along with other captains stand on the east door.”
6964. ”Oh Mahodhara who destroyed the pride of God of death ,Go in proper time along with war mad valorous hero Maha Parswa “Oh enemy of Indra ,And two hundred vellam army to the southern side belonging to God of death,And kill all the monkeys which have tail.”
6965. “Oh enemy of Indra , Oh Indrajit , what is the use of telling your greatness ,You have already seen the prowess of Hanuman the son of wind God ,On the day that Lanka was burnt. Oh valorous one , With you great army,Surrounding two hundred vellam of the army reach,The western gate of the city before dawn.”
6966. ”Oh Virupaksha , you have been fighting with the devas for a very long time,And have only seen their death and is is improper for you to fight ,With this weak monkeys who are in large number and it would not give fame to you.And so along with the famous Moola bala and along with ministers ,Protect this ancient , great and famous city .” Said Ravana.
6967. After waging war against all worlds which are south of Brahma ‘s land ,Won over all of them and with war not satiating me and I would take ,Two hundred vellums of the army along with elephants in rut , horses swords ,And Army driving the chariot and protect the northern entrance”Saying like this Ravana divided his one thousand Vellam army properly.
6968. Is the wide period of dark night which was reason of worrying everybody,Only for Devas who want to see comfort ? Is it only for sages who have ,Mastered the four Vedas? Is it only for the fair pretty Sita?Is it only for the king of Lanka? But it brought comfort for all of them together?
6969. Fearing the tyrant rule of Ravana who does not have the culture of mercy But has only interest in war, Sun thought that it would be difficult to come out,And was hiding and when he was suffering like this with sorrow ,Seeing the just king who destroyed the pride of the tyrant and who protects ,Just like the emerging of small kings out of hiding , he appeared on eastern sky.”
6970. As soon as as the day broke with lot of dust hitting all the directions,And subdue the sound of the ocean with flowing water ,And the dusts filled up the ocean and the monkey captains ,Who were not bothered not to fight as per the orders passed earlier ,Arrived at their allotted gates of the city and surrounded them.
6971. That monkey army reached the walls of the city and jumped on it ,Making the stars of the sky fall on the ground and tearing the universe ,Making tumultuous noise and Sugreeva the son of Sun God with matchless rays,And Lakshmana walked in front and Lord Indra saluted and greeted them,And Lord Rama also Got up and walked towards the battle field.
6972. , That epic city belonging to that debased one was greatly strong ,Which was beyond the understanding of of those poets who had mastered ocean like books,And the ocean like spear holding Rakshasa army , though it has been already swallowed ,Was standing surrounding on the sides of the black sea and milky ocean like ,Army of the monkeys standing opposite and made it look like a city.
6973. That monkey army surrounded the huge measureless army of Rakshasas,AS if it is a net and this could be compared to the cloth like praise worthy seven oceans At the time of deluge when the final storm is blowing ,Made all the earth as one entity which was standing on one side.
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About Kavichakravarthy Kamban
Historians place him in the 9th century CE, But surely Kamban belongs to the third great wave of Tamizh literature that started with the Sangam period (dated before the Common Era), followed by the widespread impact of Bhakti literature of the Alwars (vaishnavite saints) & Nayanamars (shaivaite saints). Kamban Authored Ramanaya in Tamil…Known as Kamba Ramayanam..
Kambar has been the milestone for the Tamil scholars that none had reached. He was also known as “Kamba Naatazhvar” at his time. Many Tamil authors from the modern world have written the books on the poet Kamban.
FAQs
Kambar or Kavichakravarthy Kamban (1180–1250) was a medieval Tamil poet and the author of the Ramavataram, popularly known as Kambaramayanam, the Tamil version of the epic Ramayana.
Valmiki Ramayana and Kamba Ramayanam are two versions of Ramayana written in the Sanskrit and Tamil languages respectively. … Kamba Ramayanam is originally called as Ramavataram. Although Valmiki Ramayana is the original version of the story of Rama, Kamba Ramayana is believed to be based on the work by Valmiki.
The Kamba Ramayanam, is a Tamil epic that was written by the Tamil poet Kambar during the 12th century. Based on Valmiki’s Ramayana (which is in Sanskrit), the story describes the life of King Rama of Ayodhya.
The book is divided into six chapters, called Kandam in Tamil. The Kandams are further divided into 123 sections called Padalam (படலம்) in Tamil. These 123 sections contain approximately 12,000 verses of the epic.